Pro Comp ES9000 Shock Information and Specs

[Ebag333]

So I finally got my front procomp shocks installed. They are the ones with the 12.5" travel.

No pictures yet as it's dark outside, and probably none before I go to work. (Yeah, it's cruel of me to post something like this and tease you without pics.)


After a lot of different plans and ideas on how to do the front shocks (I'm not OCD, Nay! I'm not!), I ended up doing something really simple.

For the bottom mounts I simply welded on a stud to eye adapter. Similar to this one:

(Though not that one, as Summit is silly overpriced. I think I paid like $5 a pop for mine.)

For the top I found some box steel the same dimensions. Cut off about a 2" long section, drilled a hole through the side, cut a square hole on the top of the existing shock mount, then welded it in. Super easy, looks great, and gave me about two or even three inches more of clearance. Remember, the stock setup has a bushing that spaces down the shock body by about 1/2 of an inch or so, so you gain that plus however high the new mount is.

I could have done something more complex and gone even higher, but didn't for two main reasons. One, it's more complex (simple solutions appeal to me) and two, I don't think I'll need it. If the front has the same compression as the rear, I need 16" of clearance. The shock I got for the front (929543) is 17.32" fully compressed. I think I gained about 1.5" to 2" going up (would need to measure to be exact), and lost an inch from the spacer at the bottom. That puts me at 17.32" minus .5" to 1", which should be right around the 16" minimum.

If I can fully stuff the tire to the point where I am over compressing the shock, I'll install some axle bump stops and space them down as needed. I really shouldn't need to go far at all, maybe 1/2" to 1".


As far as the way it drives...well...lets just say "odd". The rear wanted to roll and the front didn't, which caused some interesting body roll. It's definitely much stiffer than the OME's, so you do loose some of the softer/cushy ride. I could "feel" the road much more, and I think that handling will be improved once I get the rear shocks done. Right now it's a bit squirrelly as the rear wants to roll and the front doesn't, which causes some odd feeling (not dangerous or not drivable by any means, just feels odd).

The ride isn't harsh by any means, but you do feel a lot more as far as bumps/etc goes. I can't wait to get the rears in, then go and see how well it flexes.

 

[Ebag333]

(I'm not OCD, Nay! I'm not!)

Because I'm not OCD I can tell you that I did not walk out to my truck, and got a tape measure.

And because I didn't get a tape measure, I can't tell you that I the square tubing is exactly 2" long, and the center of the hole (for the bolt) is 1.5" up the length.

If I was OCD, not knowing exactly would really bug me. Good thing I'm not OCD, eh?

 

[mister]

Get'em done allready.............

 

[Ebag333]

And here's the pics.


Passenger side, from the fender:

Driver side, from the front (notice how much room there is to go up, though you'd have to do a lot more fab work to make it happen):

Passenger side, lower mount. The insert (that keeps the bushing open to 1/2") popped out, so I was forced to go with a 3/8th's inch bolt. I upgraded that to grade 8 and called it good.

The upper shock mounts are so silly easy to do. If you ground it down and shot it with paint, it'd look OEM. You could also cap the top off for a more finished look, though I prefer it open for two reasons, one so you can see whats going on in there, and two so that the box flexes in a little and really pinches the bushing when you tighten the bolt up.

You can see in the PS pics that I have some washers in as spacers, the DS pic was before I had put in the spacers.

My only complaint with the Pro Comps is that the lower bushing is supposed to be for a 1/2" bolt (the upper bushing is for a 5/8" bolt, or a 1/2" if you use a spacer/insert), but the insert is a little tweaked and you can't fit it through. It's not a big deal to drill it out slightly to fit the bolt, you just need to be careful not to push the insert out of the bushing (like I did ).

If I were to order another set, I'd order them with 5/8th" bushings top and bottom, without a center insert. You can then get an insert that will step them down to 1/2", I found out today that my local Ace has 'em so I picked some up to use instead of provided inserts.

Still liking the ride/feel.



/me edits

Couple more data points.

1) Compressing these shocks is way harder than the OME's. Maybe I'm just a skinny white boy...but...dang.

2) I gained 1/2" of lift in the front after installing the procomps.

 

[mister]

Nice, how are the rears comming? Keep us posted with pics. I my go this way.

 

[Ebag333]

Still on hold. My bro dumped a project on me that, oh-by-the-way-I-need-this-done-in-3-days, has been holding everything up.

Good news is I got a new welder out of the deal, and am getting a lot of practice at arc welding.

 

[Ebag333]

Something I'd meant to do, but never actually did, was measure the OME shocks for min/max.

The numbers I got (and I rounded off to the nearest half inch, so they're relatively accurate) are:

Model		Body	Min	Max	Range		Upper	Lower

N73			13.50	23.50	10.00		Stud	Stud
N74E			14.50	24.50	10.00		Stud	Eye

Compared to the original specs:

Model		Body	Min	Max	Range		Upper	Lower

N73			13.93	24.17	10.24		Stud	Stud
N74E			14.57	24.40	09.83		Stud	Eye

I suspect that the way OME measured the front shocks is a little weird due to the difference between stud and eye. For one, the L's have the same specs front and rear, when the rears should be about 1" different because of the difference between eye and stud.

I updated the first post for the standard (non-L) OME shocks, based on some measurements I took.

Looks like the front shocks are even shorter than I originally posted. I got those numbers from another thread here on MUD, they were supposedly the numbers from OME. I suspect that either they measured them weird, or just got them wrong.

The newer numbers actually make a lot more sense.

Keep in mind that the stud side of the shocks use a bushing that will add about a 1/2" or so, so that changes things a bit.

Anyone wanna measure the L's for me?



I also have one of the rear shocks basically done. Need to do the upper mount for the other side, and then I can bolt 'em in. Looks ugly, but it gets the job done.

Is it sad that other than some extra body roll/swaying, there's not a huge difference between driving with 2 OME shocks in the rear, and just 1?



Here is my very ugly new upper shock tower. I got impatient doing it, so it doesn't look nearly as nice as I'd like. Oh well.

As you can see, I went up 4" total, 3.5" to the center of the bolt hole. It's actually at an angle that roughly matches the original shock mount angle, so it's a bit less than that on the other side (maybe 3.75" total or so).

This just barely clears the body, and that's with my 1" body lift. So if you want 14" travel shocks, you're going to have an awfully hard time clearing them without a body lift or spacing your bump stops way down.


The shock I got for the rear is 18.82" at minimum. Since I went up 3.5", that leaves me at 15.32", which gives me about 3/4ths of an inch extra room, which is just about perfect IMHO.

For length I will be sitting at about 29" (from the stock mounting location). In comparison the OME standards are 24.40" long, meaning I'm seeing a gain of about 4.5" (and no lost up travel).

I like.

 

[Ebag333]

Rear shocks are finally both in.

The lower rear shock mount requires a 3/4" (19 mm) hole in the bushing. Make sure that you have the right bushing before hand, and save yourself a lot of hassle.

The 1" body lift was invaluable, because it made it very easy to bolt in the upper shock tower mounts. I just lined up the bolt, and then took a socket extension and hammer, and popped it through. I could see the head of the bolt between the frame and the body through the rear wheel well. This was after I had already lined up the shock bushing, washers (used as spacers), and holes in the mount of course.


I saw another gain of approx 1/2" of lift between the Pro Comp's and OME's. Took it for a spin, and I gotta say I really like the ride. It's not nearly as soft as the OME's, so you get a lot less body roll. When going around corners the OME's would roll over, then roll back. This is more of a snap over, hold it, then snap back. Takes a bit of getting used to, but doesn't feel squirrely at all, more of a sporty feel to it.

Handling is definitely snappier compared to the OME's.

It kinda reminds me of the way the OME heavies + OME shocks felt, but not as rough of a ride.



Now I just need to start doing all the fun stuff associated with taller lifts. Extended brake lines, diff breathers......

This weekend I'll try and make it out to the RTI ramp. I'm very curious to see what a difference it makes.

 

[landtank]

isn't this mount 90* out?

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_slVHNYKrqfc/Sq8NckV7gPI/AAAAAAAACDQ/_KByUFaYbZo/s400/DSC_0253.jpg

 

[Ebag333]

isn't this mount 90* out?

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_slVHNYKrqfc/Sq8NckV7gPI/AAAAAAAACDQ/_KByUFaYbZo/s400/DSC_0253.jpg

Does it really matter?

I've looked at quite a few trucks, and many of them are mounted in that direction. Some are mounted in the other direction (foward/back). I talked it over with the guy who helped me do my front shocks, and he made the good point that there is not really all that much movement forward/back/left/right, the majority of travel is up/down.

While I haven't done anything super crazy flexy, I've gone through some stuff that stuffed the front about as much as you can, nothing contacts or is causing any problems.

It would also be more difficult to bolt it in if the bolt was in the other direction.

 

[alia176]

The orientation of the lower mount does concern me a tad but only time will tell. Let us know in a few months time frame, how the shocks are doing. Good bang for the buck factor!

Cheers.

 

[alkaline747trio]

Don't stress over shock mount orientation. The bushing deflects as much as the shock would rotate. Plus I have similar lower adapters, yet mine are bolted on. After a while mine will switch up their orientation, but I can never tell a difference and no damage has occurred to anything related to them and the shocks.

 

[Nay]

I gained 1/2" of lift in the front after installing the procomps.

You know what this says about your springs that your new shocks are changing the ride height, don't you

How's the OCD?

 

[Ebag333]

Don't stress over shock mount orientation. The bushing deflects as much as the shock would rotate. Plus I have similar lower adapters, yet mine are bolted on. After a while mine will switch up their orientation, but I can never tell a difference and no damage has occurred to anything related to them and the shocks.

No damage so far here either as well.

I'm not sure the concern as to the orientation. I've seen vehicles with shocks mounted both ways (OEM, not aftermarket add ons). Most of the domestic trucks have their rear shocks mounted side to side, while LC's rear shocks are mounted front to back. If there was some sort of serious problem mounting in that orientation, I doubt that hundreds of thousands of vehicles would have it that way from the manufacturer.

You know what this says about your springs that your new shocks are changing the ride height, don't you

That the OME shocks are incredibly soft and were taking little to none of the weight of the vehicle?

The shock design between the OME's and Pro Comp's is very different. Because the OME's have that little bypass jobbie (the one that makes them very easy to compress by hand), the ride will eventually simply sit at whatever height is allowed by the springs.

The Pro Comp's aren't designed with that in mind. They want to be fully extended, and are not easily compressed or held in position (my arms and back can attest to the difference between the OME's and Pro Comp's!).

From Man-A-Fre's site (re: the new OME shocks):

While most dual-tube shock absorber systems are typically designed with the focus on ride height rather than ride quality, ARB’s classic Old Man Emu (OME) NitroCharger line has always been designed with valving for the load carrying capacity as the core objective and the new OME NitroCharger Sport takes that principle one step further.

Even OME decided (eventually) that their shocks were too soft. The new NitroCharger Sports are stiffer than the classic ones. I haven't had the pleasure of trying them myself, so I can't personally compare to the original OME's or the Pro Comp's.

So, how does it handle? Compared with the OME classic NitroCharger, the NitroCharger Sport is slightly firmer and no longer has the soft wallow, providing better control at low speeds making it more stable in the corners. At high speeds, the shock will still allow you to feel the subtleties in the terrain for reactive handling, while offering better traction and stability. It handles in a Euro-Sport style with excellent cornering and extremely reactive handling.

How's the OCD?

I just answered a 1 sentance statement with 5 paragraphs and 2 quotes. How do you think my OCD is?

 

[Ebag333]

Thanks to Kaoscruizer who found some bushings that should allow the lower rear mounts to bolt right in.
Pro Comp Suspension Systems 68070 - Pro Comp Shock Bushings - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Pro Comp Suspension Systems 68070 - Pro Comp Shock Bushings
Bushings, Shock, Polyurethane, Black, Hourglass Eye, 1.470 in. Long, .737 in. I.D., 1.070 in. O.D., Pair

I just ordered a set, and will report how well they work.



BTW, still loving these shocks.

 

[little_joe]

I am curious if any valving info is available for these shocks? I appreciate your comments about ride and handling, but I find this is very subjective and what feels "firm" to one may be brutal to another.

I have FOR's GenII springs cut down, and I need some shocks for this lift. I'm running the stock replacement Bilsteins (remnant from OME stock height springs) and feel these shocks are too stiff for the FOR's. The ride is perfectly acceptable offroad and on, but my sorry ol' butt could stand a bit more mush.... er more plush ride. And since I need correct length shocks anyway, these Procomps seem to be a decent option.

So, and idea what the valving is? esp in comparison the various OME shocks, or even Frankie's custom shocks?

 

[Ebag333]

No idea on the comparison to Frankie's Bilstiens.

These are much stiffer than the OME's, but I don't find them to be that much stiffer than the stock LX shocks (though the stock LX shocks have a wallow/caddy feel to them, they actually are fairly stiff IMHO compared to the OME's). I haven't ridden in a truck with the new OME's (which are supposed to be stiffer than the current ones), so no comparison there either.

The combo of med springs + Pro Comp's feels somewhat similar to the OME shocks + OME heavies as far as stiffness goes, but with a less harsh ride than that combo.


Part of it may be that the Pro Comp's have variable valving in them. So it's hard to directly compare them to other shocks with fixed valving, not that it would be apples to apples anyway.

 

[little_joe]

Thanks for the followup! I may just give them a try.

And also, thanks for all of the time and research you put into this - it's a huge help and I (and likely many others) appreciate it very much!

 

[Kaoscruizer]

front shock option

I discussed a previous thread with Ebag and noticed that there is a direct bolt in option for the front that he found and is not part of this thread yet. I am ordering the 925530 for the front.

Ebag gave me his blessing stating that with 285's, the above front shock option will work. For those wishing to run bigger tires, I am not sure they will be enough.

I also want to say thank you for all your diligent work in finding an option for us financially challenged folk that can't afford OME!

 

[Ebag333]

I discussed a previous thread with Ebag and noticed that there is a direct bolt in option for the front that he found and is not part of this thread yet. I am ordering the 925530 for the front.

Ebag gave me his blessing stating that with 285's, the above front shock option will work. For those wishing to run bigger tires, I am not sure they will be enough.

Well now, I did say you should measure your compression to make sure that they would fit. They shouldn't be a problem given that they are under 15", and you can't fully compress the front end anyway with the stock setup.

The only reason they wouldn't work for someone is they might not have enough travel for them. But they are almost 2" longer than the stock OME's, which puts them about equivelent to the L's, so if the L's would work for you then those should work just fine.

I also want to say thank you for all your diligent work in finding an option for us financially challenged folk that can't afford OME!

Or find OME's to be too soft.